


Only big girls get birthday cake.

by WickedHeadache



Series: Time Travel For Morons [4]
Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: 1960s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday Cake, F/F, First Kiss, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23276149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedHeadache/pseuds/WickedHeadache
Summary: It's Leslie's birthday. She forgot about it, but she's lucky she has her two girls at home to give her a reminder.
Relationships: Leslie Dean/Tina Minoru
Series: Time Travel For Morons [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1649044
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Only big girls get birthday cake.

When Leslie opened the door, she wondered if she was hallucinating, because she hadn't seen those warm lights that lit up the darkened room in what felt like a lifetime ago. Then, a wide smile split her face in half. Tina was beautiful, black hair long and falling down her back, as she held Elle up in her hip. The candles in the cake illuminated their faces slightly.

It was August 13th, and Leslie had gone through her life for the last two years ignoring the date completely. Today was her birthday. She had forgotten about it, and she had no idea how Tina remembered it.

“What is this?” She asked softly, eyes locked with Tina's.

“Happy birthday, Mama!” Little Elle bounced a bit from the woman's arms. She had clearly been practicing her line.

Leslie's cheek hurt slightly at how wide her smile was. “Thank you, sweetie!” She rushed toward them and picked Elle up from Tina's arms with the sole purpose of filling her face with kisses.

“Ew, Mommy!” Elle whined.

She paid her no mind and looked over to Tina, who stood in front of her uncharacteristically nervous. 

“You did all of this?”

“Oh, it's not that big of a deal.”

“And you're being modest, too?” Leslie teased with a chuckle. “Who  _ are _ you?”

“Shut up.”

“Thank you. Really,” she said more seriously, then looked down to the birthday cake. “You cooked, too?” She raised a brow.

“Don't be stupid, I bought it. I have no interest on giving you food poisoning.”

“You are…  _ so sweet _ .”

“I'd have to take care of your little devil all by myself, and I've had enough with the already enormous amount of time I have her under my care,” Tina added, snarkily, not having caught Leslie's sincere tone.

“No, I mean it,” Leslie clarified. “I don't even remember which was the last time I celebrated my birthday. Or that today's...the day. How did you know?”

“You told me.”

Leslie looked at her skeptically, and Tina didn't even attempt to pretend she was telling the truth.

“I ran a background check on you after we first met,” she admitted unashamedly.

“Ah,” Leslie nodded, like it wasn't all that surprising, and then frowned. Because it had been years since that background check was probably done and Tina still remembered her birthday. She kept that thought to herself. 

“Cake!” Elle demanded suddenly. 

“Your mom's got to blow the candles first,” Tina told her, in a somewhat severe voice that was unnecessary, Leslie thought rolling her eyes inwardly. 

Tina had been trying to teach her some strict manners lately, so she made sure to instruct Elle every single thing she was supposed to do. Leslie, while she agreed manners were important, thought some things were a little excessive. Elle was only two years old. But she wasn't about to get into that discussion a third time, especially on her birthday.

“What, no song?” She said, biting back a smile.

Tina shot her a glare. “Are you suggesting that I sing?”

“Oh, no, I'd like to keep my head, thank you,” Leslie said and, Elle still scooped up in her arms, she bent over slightly to blow out the candles. There was one lit up with orange light and before the flame could revive, Leslie licked two fingers and cooled it off.

She felt Elle leaving a kiss in her cheek with a wet noise and she laughed out loud. “Such a big kiss, Elle,” she praised.

“Can I eat cake?”

“In a second, sweetheart.” Leslie put a hand in her little soft cheek and rubbed it with her thumb before resting her chin over the girl's head.

She looked at Tina. She found her staring, lips curled upwards. Leslie's eyes gleamed with the light of the moment. A light that lately had been hard to find for her.

“Do I have something in my face?”

Tina shook her head, almost imperceptibly. “Did you make a wish?”

“I think I'm a little old for birthday wishes.”

“No. Nobody's ever too old for wishes,” Tina mumbled. Leslie was confused by that sentence. “Wishes are more powerful than you think.”

“I prefer prayers,” she replied.

“Of course you do,” she rolled her shoulders. Never actual functional magic with this one, Tina thought. “I'm going to get a knife.”

Leslie turned to Elle with a big smile and exclaimed with far too much excitement. “Yay, cake!”

“Cake!” Elle repeated gleefully.

It pulled a smile from Tina's lips as she opened the kitchen drawer. Leslie took the candles off the cake and sneaked a bit of pink frosting into her mouth. Elle stared at her bewildered, then a pout appeared in her face.

“I want too,” she decided.

“You can't put your fingers in the frosting. It's gross.”

“You did it!” Elle narrowed her eyes.

“That's because it's  _ my  _ cake.”

Tina came back with the knife in her hand and a lifted brow. 

“Mama eated frosting,” Elle called her out as soon as she spotted the other woman.

“Little snitch,” Leslie mumbled.

“It's ate, not  _ eated _ ,” Tina corrected quickly, then turned to Leslie. “Have you even washed your hands since you came from work?”

Leslie bit her lips sheepishly. “It's delicious,” she just said. “What bakery is it from?”

Pressing a hand to her forehead, Tina said a name that Leslie probably wouldn't recall and moved to cut the cake. She got tired of holding Elle, so she put her down, and the girl rushed to watch the cake as close as it was physically possible.

“So…” Tina drawled. “How many years old does this make?”

Leslie pulled the fork out of her mouth in a clean movement. “Didn't you find that in my file?”

“I don't remember every detail of it.”

“You remembered my birthday,” Leslie pointed out. 

Tina ignored that. “Just give me a number.”

“It's impolite to ask a lady her age.”

“Are you serious?” Tina lifted a skeptical brow.

“Let's just say I'm older than you,” she said.

“There's not that much of an age difference between us,” Tina argued.

Leslie sighed, dragged a tired hand across her eyes. “I'm 38.” When she looked up to Tina once again, she noticed her smiling at her in an unsettling manner. “What?”

“You become more beautiful with each passing year,” she said sincerely. Leslie blinked at her open-mouthed for five seconds before shaking that look off her face.

“You really think so?” She stared into her eyes with open curiosity.

“Why would I lie?” She replied. She broke eye contact and stood up, picking up plates and licking some frosting off her thumb. “By the way, you say you are  _ older _ , but it's only four years, you drama queen.”

“Leave it,” Leslie stopped her suddenly and stood next to her. Tina looked at her questioningly before putting the plates on the table. “We can clean it in the morning. You look tired.”

“I compliment your looks, and this is what I get in return?”

“You know what I mean,” she smiled softly, setting a hand on Tina's shoulder and brushing black hair away from it, pulling behind her ear. “How was she today?”

“She tried to get into the toilet.”

She frowned. “Isn't a little early for potty training?”

“No, no. She tried to get  _ into _ the toilet. Full body,” she corrected. Leslie's brows flew up. “But on the bright side, she got into her head that she wants to be a grown-up and helped set the table.”

“And how are you?” She asked then. Tina looked up confused. “I know how hard it all has been for you.”

“I'm fine now,” she replied.

“Are you sure?”

Tina smiled tightly, a small laugh in the back of her throat. “I'm certain. So, let's go to bed?”

“Not yet,” Leslie shook her head, biting her lower lip. Her hand rose up from her neck to the back of her neck. Tina looked into her eyes, lips slightly parted, and she swallowed when she spotted the suggestive look Leslie had. “I haven't thanked you properly for your gift, yet.”

“Oh,” Tina's gaze drifted towards her lips and back to her eyes. “What do you have in mind?” She couldn't help the way her lips curled.

Leslie towered over Tina as she placed her right hand on the side of Tina's head and leaned forward. She met her halfway with a soft, closed-mouth kiss. Tina's eyes fluttered shut when she felt the softness of Leslie's lips. She kissed her back, hands falling to each side of the woman's hips.

Maybe she should be pushing her away. Maybe she should run far away from here. They were both married after all. However, that felt like a lifetime ago. Robert was a distant memory in the back of her brain and Leslie was right in front of her, living a life with her every day.

Kissing her felt right. Natural. They were in 1962, away from the world they used to know. This was their world. They had made it their own and  _ this,  _ them, pulled it together. Leslie was a breeze of pure air and Tina had been drowning.

Tina broke the kiss and drew her foreheads together, closing her eyes. “I'm so tired,” she muttered.

“Me, too,” Leslie replied, drifting apart. She caressed Tina's cheekbones as she let her hands fall back to her sides. “Let's go to bed.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I did just suggest Leslie is a Leo. Because she is. Deal with it.
> 
> Joking aside, I did my research for this fic and now it's part of my headcanons. If you're interested in it, I think Tina is a Capricorn.


End file.
